Share this article
Crypto Mining for Political Campaigns? A US Elections Agency Is Considering It
US election officials are considering a request that, if approved, would let people contribute to political campaigns by mining cryptocurrencies.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:26 a.m. Published Oct 2, 2018, 2:00 p.m.
The U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) is considering a request that, if approved, would allow people to volunteer for political campaigns by lending some of their computing power to mine cryptocurrencies.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
from OsiaNetwork LLC, quietly published in late September, is the first of its kind, and if given the thumbs-up would represent a new way for cryptocurrencies to be used to support political efforts in the U.S. The request is currently subject to a public comment period.
In May 2014, the FEC gave its approval for bitcoin donations as a form of in-kind contribution to campaigns.
The company wants to serve as the platform through which would-be "volunteers" can give up their devices' processing power to mine, effectively serving as a mining pool but with a decidedly political bent.
"OsiaNetwork would allow volunteers to support federal political committees by 'pooling' the processing power of their internet enabled devices to mine cryptocurrencies. OsiaNetwork believes that enabling individual volunteers to so 'pool' the processing power of their internet enabled devices would allow individuals to support their preferred candidates, which they would not otherwise be able to do," the request states.
According to the document, volunteers would designate which devices they want to use, and as long as they're actively signed into OsiaNetwork's website, their computing power would be used to generate new cryptocurrency.
"Mining rewards will be allocated among OsiaNetwork's clients proportionately to the number of hashes that each committee's volunteers generate in order to solve the block that generates the mining reward," the company explained. "OsiaNetwork will maintain a separate account for each of its clients that reflects on an ongoing basis the number of hashes generated by the individual volunteers of that particular client."
OsiaNetwork goes on to clarify that it, not the volunteers themselves, will receive the generated coins. Volunteers "will not have ownership interest in or any rights to the mining reward at any point."
Notably, the request seeks to allow political campaigns themselves to solicit such a donation option, with OsiaNetwork connecting to their websites and enabling contributors to sign up from that point.
As OsiaNetwork explained:
"If a federal political committee would like to allow their individual supporters to volunteer the processing power of their internet enabled devices, OsiaNetwork will provide the tools necessary to create a webpage on that committee's website that provides the methodology to pool the processing power of these volunteers' internet enabled devices."
In return, OsiaNetwork would take a share of the mining rewards earned, "and the percentage will not change based on how much cryptocurrency is mined."
"This fee will include a reasonable profit," the company added.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Internet Computer climbs back to $3 as short-term momentum improves
ICP pushed above the $3 level on rising activity, holding recent gains as traders reassess near-term direction.
What to know:
- ICP rose about 2.7% to roughly $3.00, reclaiming a closely watched psychological level.
- Trading activity increased during the move higher, accompanying the push through resistance near $2.95–$3.00.
- Price has since stabilized just above $3, keeping attention on whether the level can hold as near-term support.
Top Stories
